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Month: February 2016

The Boss has a book deal. Simon & Schuster announced Thursday that Bruce Springsteen has spent the past several years working on a memoir, which will come out Sept. 27, four days after Springsteen turns 67. The title, of course, is “Born to Run.” Financial terms were not disclosed, although his deal is almost certainly… Read More

Few doors in classical music have slammed as hard as the one that closed behind Charles Dutoit when he quit l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal in 2002. Probably no one foresaw that the 25 years the Swiss conductor spent leading the OSM to unprecedented world renown would end in a sudden and total divorce. Orchestras tend… Read More

Conductor Bruno Weil Music Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Venue Koerner Hall City Toronto Date Sunday, February 07, 2016 We critics are supposed to criticize – that’s our job. But on Sunday afternoon, I found myself unable to complete my critic’s task, because too many tears were dampening my face. Every so often, you come across a… Read More

Martin Shkreli faces a new legal headache, a lawsuit claiming that his $2 million Wu-Tang Clan album contains illustrations ripped off from a New York artist, who now wants the former drug executive to pay for them. In a complaint filed on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, Jason Koza said he never allowed his fan… Read More

The songs are fine but the dance is unacceptable, and an indie-rock hero has been pushed too far. “Do the hustle,” an old disco anthem implored, “do it.” But the beat for some is getting old. Had I heard Jason Collett correctly? Speaking casually at the Dakota Tavern, the singer-songwriter had told me he viewed… Read More

Laurie Bower was the musical equivalent of a Swiss Army knife: trombone player, singer, conductor, choral arranger, mentor and even professional whistler. A mainstay on the Toronto music circuit for nearly six decades, Mr. Bower, who died in Toronto on Jan. 19 at the age of 82, was steeped in the retro swing-era sounds of… Read More

Title Passerby Artist Luluc Label Sub Pop Records Genre Folk Rating 3/4 When you’re weary, feeling small, and when tears are in your eyes, Luluc will dry them all. On their debut international release, the gentle, pacifying wash of Simons and Garfunkels and Great Lake Swimmers is what the Australian folk duo of Zoe Randell… Read More

Title For Those Who Stay Artist PS I Love You Label Paper Bag Records Rating 3.5/4 Working for the first time in a proper studio – at the Tragically Hip’s popular Bathouse Recording Studio in Bath, Ont. – the PS I Love You twosome of drummer Benjamin Newman and singer, guitarist and effect-pedal aficionado Paul… Read More

Title They Want My Soul Artist Spoon Label Universal Rating 3/4 Year 2014 There comes a time when one decides one no longer needs to hear any more new music – got enough, thank you – and retires to a life soundtrack or other records missed along the way. I can imagine that day happening,… Read More